Bill Tosheff

William Mark "Bill" Tosheff (June 2, 1926 – October 1, 2011) was an American professional basketball player.

A 6'1" guard, Tosheff played at Indiana University from 1947 to 1951 after a stint with the U.S. Army Air Corps.[1] From 1951 to 1954, he played in the NBA as a member of the Indianapolis Olympians and Milwaukee Hawks, averaging 9.2 points in 203 games.[2] Some sources list him as the 1952 NBA Co-Rookie of the Year (with Mel Hutchins);[1] however, official NBA guides generally have not included pre-1953 winners.[3]

In 1988, Tosheff founded the Pre-1965 NBA Players Association in order to secure fair pension plans for NBA players who were active before 1965.[4] Tosheff lobbied to close a loophole in the NBA pension that granted benefits to post-1965 players with a minimum of three years of service, but required pre-1965 players have five years of service.[5]

A San Diego resident, Tosheff died in Hawaii from cancer aged 85 on October 1, 2011.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Michael Schumacher. Mr. Basketball: George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers, and the Birth of the NBA. Bloomsbury, 2007. page 274.
  2. ↑ Bill Tosheff. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  3. ↑ Bill Tosheff: NBA Co-Rookie of the Year and Tireless Advocate for the "Pre-1965ers" (Part II). 20 Second Timeout. March 2, 2009. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  4. ↑ Ron Kroichik. "Pensions in pro sports: An age old issue for all the big leagues". San Francisco Chronicle. March 18, 2007. Retrieved on August 23, 2011.
  5. ↑ Burstein, Rachel (January 1998). "Bill "Tosh" Tosheff". Mother Jones 23 (1): 16. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  6. ↑ Al Hamnik. "NBA pension fighter, Gary native Tosheff, dead at 85". nwitimes. October 3, 2011. Retrieved on October 3, 2011.
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